Our Head of Advocacy, Alison Dunlop, shares her thoughts on The Sunday Times interview with Dame Lesley Regan (Women’s Health Ambassador for England) highlighting that women’s healthcare in the UK is stuck in the 90s.
When Dame Lesley Regan told the Sunday Times (19 October) that women’s healthcare in Britain is ‘stuck in the 90s’, it was more than a criticism of outdated policy – it marked a clear call to action for an urgent overhaul of women’s health in the UK.
Dame Lesley’s message is clear: women and girls have been let down by a system that persistently deprioritises women’s health conditions. Right now, the UK has the largest gender health gap in the G20. The statistics are truly shocking. Poor health outcomes for women are costing the UK billions in lost productivity in the workplace every year; over 600,000 women are currently waiting for gynaecological treatment in the NHS; and stark women’s health inequalities mean that women living in deprived areas are facing shorter life expectancies and higher maternal risks.
As the Women’s Health Ambassador for England, Dame Lesley is the driving force behind creating a ‘bright yellow front door’ for innovation. This is an important new approach that supports a clear, open route for organisations with new ideas to navigate NHS and government red tape, creating faster access to innovative treatments that can truly change women’s lives.
The goal of achieving a ‘bright yellow front door’ could help to deliver much needed change in access to treatments in women’s health, but of course more still needs to be done to address the state of women’s health in the UK today.
Fundamentally, the Government has to commit to delivering the Women’s Health Strategy at a much faster pace. In the summer, The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) released a report: Work in Progress: Evaluating the Women’s Health Strategy, assessing the impact of the Strategy three years on. The key takeaway: ‘2025 must be a turning point in delivery’. Critical to achieving progress is the much anticipated refresh of the Strategy, which must be closely aligned with the Government’s 10 Year Health Plan. But for the Strategy to live up to its promise of tackling deep rooted system issues in women’s health, the refresh needs to include a clear implementation plan for the next seven years, supported by sustainable long-term investment and key performance indicators.
Having recently facilitated a discussion with leaders across the women’s health industry on the key priorities for women’s health in the UK, it is clear that the sector has a pivotal role to play in driving change. Increasingly, major industry players are joining forces to tackle systemic challenges and advocate for policy reform. This collective effort is essential to secure government focus on modernising a system that remains rooted in outdated approaches. The shared ambition must be to ensure that all women, regardless of demographic, have equitable access to the treatment and care they need for conditions specific to their gender.
To truly bring women’s health into the 21st Century, collaboration must extend beyond policy discussions. It demands sustained partnerships between government, industry and advocacy leaders – united in delivering innovation, accelerating access, and turning the Women’s Health Strategy into a lived reality for every woman and girl in the UK.
At MHP Health, we’re proud to play a role in this collective effort, working across the health ecosystem to translate ambition into meaningful, lasting change.
Advancing Equity in Women’s Health
Our Health Advocacy team partners with clients to turn purpose into impact. We work with leaders across industry, patient groups and NGOs to design and deliver advocacy strategies that empower women and girls across all demographics to make informed decisions about their health, ensuring equitable access to services and treatments.
From shaping policy conversations to amplifying lived experiences, we create programmes that deliver meaningful, sustainable impact in reducing gender health disparities and improving outcomes for women and girls worldwide.
For more information, please get in touch.
